The Libby Garrett Intervention (Science Squad #2) (37 page)

Sean laughed. “My pleasure.” His look turned serious once more and he gave me a small smile. “Really, I’m the one indebted to you. What you’ve done with Libby over these last few weeks…” He shook his head. “Sometimes the hardest thing about being a parent is letting your kids make their own mistakes. Her mom and I have watched her struggle recently. We couldn’t help her because she didn’t want our help and she was old enough to refuse it. She may have had a rough night last night, but she’s a different young woman now. I’ve been so worried about her, but I’m not anymore. She’ll get it together, and that’s thanks to you.”

He was going to make me blush. I shook my head and he cut me off the second I opened my mouth to argue. “No. It is. She needed you. I’m so grateful for everything you’ve done for my daughter. You’ve gained a friend for life, and if there’s ever anything I can do for you, you just let me know.”

He held out his hand to me. I accepted it, but shook my head at the same time. “I’d say we’re even.”

Libby

I was bouncing with anticipation
when I arrived at Brandon’s house for the end-of-year science club party. I’d spent weeks plotting ways to make amends with my friends, and I had big plans for them all tonight.

I grinned as I made my way down the steps into Brandon’s basement. For the second year in a row, the party was held in Brandon’s Chem Cave—as we all called it. Though this room was one of the most fabulous places ever built, it was far from a typical basement. It was the perfect blend of science lab and game room. Half of the room was decked up much like a laboratory complete with beakers and Bunsen burners, while the other half had couches, a pool table, a big screen, and a gaming system.

There were science geeks, and then there was Brandon Campbell. Brandon’s a certified genius and gets restless if he doesn’t have something to work on at all times of day. His parents get tired of him making messes in the kitchen.

I was the last to arrive, and as soon as I did, Avery declared it was time to party. Everyone laughed, but before we could turn up the music and dive into the table of snacks Brandon’s mom had provided, Brandon got everyone’s attention. “Hey, guys? Before we get this party officially started, I have some science club news I wanted to share with you.”

It took everything I had in me not to grin. Judging from the way Brandon was blushing, I was certain I knew what his news was, and I was so excited that he’d learned about it in time to announce it at this meeting. It fit into my plans perfectly.

Brandon’s eyes flicked to Aiden then he took a breath and said, “I got a phone call a few days ago from a representative at
Science America
magazine informing me that the article on my study this year that I’d done with the rats is going to be published with them. They wanted to interview me.”

My heart flipped hard in my chest. I
knew
they’d publish that study.

After a round of congratulations from our friends, Brandon quieted us again. “The thing is,” he said, “I never sent them my study.”

While the group murmured, Brandon turned to Aiden and surprised him with a hug. “Thanks, Aiden. That was really thoughtful of you.”

Aiden shook his head, confused. “Sorry, Brandon, that wasn’t—”

“I know it was you,” Brandon said. “I asked who sent in the story, and they told me that the writing credit on the article was going to Aiden Kennedy.”

“What?” Avery squealed. “Aiden, you’re getting an article
published?
”

Aiden’s shocked eyes flicked to mine, and he shook his head. “It wasn’t me, Brandon. Libby did it. She only asked me for help writing her article.” He looked at me again. “You didn’t have to put my name on it.”

I shrugged. “Yes, I did. I brought you an idea. You put it into a coherent article. You deserve that writing credit, Mr. Journalist. Congrats on the publication.”

A small but genuine smile crossed Aiden’s face. “Thanks, Libby.”

The respect in his expression warmed my heart almost as much as Brandon’s good news. Aiden and I didn’t really care for each other, but he was part of the science club, one of my presidents. I’d owed him an apology too, even if we weren’t friends.

Another round of congratulations went out, this time for our resident reporter, and afterward, Brandon cleared his throat again. “Actually, I have more news.”

“More?” Levi asked.

Brandon became so embarrassed he couldn’t look at any of us as he muttered his next bit of news. “After they called to interview me, the guy I spoke to was so impressed, he contacted a friend of his at MIT and told him about me. I just got off the phone about a half an hour ago with MIT’s recruiting office. They offered me early admittance in their biomedical engineering program and a full-ride scholarship.”

I gasped. Brandon was only sixteen, and he’d been recruited by MIT? That was
insane!

“I accepted the scholarship, but haven’t decided on the early admittance yet. I’m not sure I want to skip my senior year. But I’m going to go there for a special summer program. They told me I could wait until near the end of the program before I had to give them a decision about next fall.”

I was so shocked I didn’t notice when Brandon closed the distance between us and wrapped me in a bone-crunching hug. His voice shook as he whispered, “Thanks, Libby.”

I hugged him back fiercely and surprised us both when my voice cracked, too. “Brandon, I’m so sorry that I made you doubt how cool I think you are. You aren’t just cool. You are one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met. You’re going to kick MIT’s derrière and find the cure for cancer one day. I have no doubt.”

Brandon laughed, a choked laugh, and when he pulled away from me he had to wipe a tear from his cheek. I let our friends take a minute to hug our science superstar, and while he was being fawned over, I grabbed the backpack I brought with me and pulled an envelope out of it. It was my turn to get the group’s attention, so I whistled and waited until all eyes were on me. “Guys, I was the world’s biggest sphincter ever. I can see that now. Thank you for not giving up on me, and thanks for taking me back. You’re the best friends anyone could ever ask for, and that said, I have one last mistake to make up for.” I held the envelope in my hand out to Levi. “I owe you a book signing.”

Frowning, Levi opened the envelope. When he read the tickets in his hand, the blood drained from his face and he almost passed out. Brandon had to catch him when his knees buckled. Man, I loved Levi. He may be the biggest geek ever to exist, but he was sure a lot of fun.

“These are…” He looked up at me with wide eyes. “These are tickets to the Fantasy Fiction discussion panel at Salt Lake’s FantasyCon this summer. George R.R. Martin, Neil Gaiman, Brandon Sanderson—”

“And L.P. Morgan,” I finished with a grin. “That was the one, right?
The Cinder Chronicles
guy? There’s a signing after the panel, so you’ll finally get to meet him.”

He shook his head, speechless. “These must have cost a
fortune
.”

They did. Thank the flying monkeys that Owen hadn’t been cheap with my birthday present. “You’re worth every penny, Levi. Have a blast, my fantasy-loving friend.”

While Levi continued to stare at his tickets as if they might not be real, I looked around my circle of friends until my eyes landed on Avery. I shrugged. “I think I’ve done my best to make amends to everyone except you.”

Avery immediately shook her head. “Breaking it off with Owen and letting Adam help you with this twelve-step program was more than enough. Just keep being your awesome self, and we’ll consider it even.”

A lump formed in my throat that didn’t want to go away no matter how hard I swallowed. “Really?”

Avery squeezed me tighter. “Of course, really. I love you, Libby. I just want you to love yourself the way I love you. And I want to see you happy.”

I hiccuped. “I want that, too.”

“We all want that, Libby,” Tara said, joining Avery in a hug that created a Libby sandwich. After a moment, Brandon, Levi, and even Aiden got in on the Libby-loving action and fully immersed me in a group hug.

For the first time in a long time, I finally found that hope—that real honest-to-goodness faith that Adam had talked about back when we first started this journey together. I finally had a life where I was happy with myself and my life, and was surrounded by people who loved me. And hopefully soon, I’d have a boyfriend who loved me just the way I was.

“Maybe you consider us even,” I said to Avery as everyone stepped back, giving me room to breathe. “But I’m pretty sure there’s at least one more thing I can do to repay you for being the most amazing best friend that ever existed.” I pulled a small box of hair dye from my bag. “I know how much you hate the blonde, so, Avery Shaw, best friend extraordinaire, would you like to do the honors?”

I took her ear-piercing squeal as a yes.

. . . . .

I was excited to show off my new hair to the Coffee Man, so I stopped at his apartment on my way home from the science club party. It wasn’t that late, barely nine thirty, but he opened the door, bleary-eyed with rumpled hair, wearing pajama pants and a plain white T-shirt. I was startled that I’d clearly woken him, but the just-rolled-out-of-bed look was a good one for him.

“Libby?” He covered a yawn with his fist. “What are you—whoa.” A grin spread across his sleepy face as he examined my hair. “I like it. Much better.”

My happiness with his reaction was marred a little by guilt. “Thanks. Sorry. I didn’t realize you’d be in bed.”

He yawned again. “I haven’t been for long. I have to open the shop tomorrow at five.”

Now I felt really bad. “Sorry. I should have called. I’ll let you get back to sleep and just come say hi tomorrow after school.”

I started to leave, but Adam stepped out onto the walkway and grabbed my wrist to stop me. “Hang on. I’ll walk you down to your car.”

Flutter, flutter went my heart. He was so sweet when he wasn’t being a giant pain in the behind. For some odd reason, I got shy when I accepted his offer. I think it was the first time I’d ever experienced the feeling. It didn’t make sense, and it was startling. My whole body clammed up while my pulse raced. I bit my bottom lip and cursed myself for doing it because it was such an obvious tell that I felt nervous. Why was I so nervous? He was just offering to walk me to my car. And he was still staring at me, waiting for approval. I couldn’t speak, so I nodded.

Adam disappeared inside and returned wearing his new hoodie. I smiled when I saw it. “Looks good on you.”

He tugged at the bottom. “It fits a lot better, too.”

There was a split second of awkwardness, which Adam broke by offering me his hand. That strange feeling was back again. I buried it and placed my hand in his. We headed downstairs at a snail’s pace, as if trying to make these few seconds together last as long as possible. “I really love the hair,” Adam said. “The dark is so much better.”

I snorted. “So I’ve been told. I let the Science Squad dye it at our end-of-year party tonight. They were all insultingly eager to do it.”

Adam laughed.

We reached the bottom of the stairs and walked the last little distance to my dad’s Escalade. When we reached the car, Adam pulled me in front of it and leaned against the grill. He may have needed to get up early, but he wasn’t in a hurry to go back to bed. I was more than happy to stall with him. Taking up position next to him, I leaned against the front of the car, too, letting my shoulder press against his.

“So…” he said, shoving his hands in the front pocket of his hoodie and glancing up at the dark sky. “You certainly look like the old you again. How do you feel?”

I took a deep breath and gave myself a moment to gather my thoughts. “I feel good,” I finally answered. He glanced down at me, a question in his eyes, asking for more. I smiled. “I had a really good night tonight. I’ve finally made amends with all of my friends. They’ve really forgiven me, and it’s cat-tastic having them all back in my life.”

Adam smiled at my awesome slang, but didn’t comment on it. “And Owen?” he asked softly.

“Done,” I said, letting out another big breath. “That’s the best part. I don’t feel sad or angry, or anything. I feel…free.” I shook my head lightly. “I don’t even think I’ll miss him. It’s strange, but now that I can see everything without the blinders on, I just feel sorry for him. He has everything any guy could ever want, but he doesn’t appreciate it. It doesn’t mean anything to him. His life, sparkly as it is, is kind of hollow.”